ISEQ up five points after late trade

The ISEQ changed direction at the last minute today and closed up 5.83 points to 4763.48.

Financials were mostly down, with AIB the biggest faller down €0.20 at €12.38, Irish Life & Permanent dropped €0.08 to €12.20 and Bank of Ireland was down €0.01, falling to €10.64.

Shares in Waterford Wedgwood were up €0.02 at €0.31, after the company said it saw signs of improving sales and announced a new refinancing plan that includes a proposed €165m bond. The company also received a stable rating from Standard & Poors which encouraged investors.

Pharmaceutical group Elan increased €0.11 to €4.71 after reporting that its chief executive has been granted an option to acquire one million shares in the company worth €5.28m.

Other gainers were Ryanair whose share price increased €0.07 to €6.70, and CRH which jumped €0.24 to €15.70.

Shares in Trinity Biotech were unchanged at €3.25 after the group announced that the recent fundraising undertaken by its 43% owned subsidiary HiberGen was not successful.